writing a letter of interest to top choice school

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Isradoc1983

Isradoc1983

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  1. Dental Student
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Hi
So, I applied to few schools but there are 2 schools which are my top choices (BU and Tufts). I submitted my application somewhat late ( complete in schools only 2 -3 weeks ago) and was thinking about writing a letter expressing my interest in their programs. Do you think its a good idea to do it before I even got an interview there? did anyone else did it and got results?
My stats aren't bad ( see predents) but aren't great... so I want to distinguish myself from the 3000+ applicants to that school.
 
My view: No. Do not write them anything because if you look at it, everyone will and cay say the same thing. Your decision to write them a letter will, I strongly belive, have a negative impact on your application and looked down upon.

Let your application, as you say is good, speak for itself. I know that as students, like myself, we are tempted to do things like that (I have thought about it too), but it is not a good thing.

You will have a chance to say all that during the interview.

My opinion, I'm sure others will have different views.

Take care.
 
Only applied to 5 schools?

I wouldnt write a letter until after the interview if needed. But how come only 5 schools? And 5 really good schools, out of your list I have only heard back from NYU.
 
Good question Andrew.

Only five schools. Maybe its for financail reasons. Hmm...
 
well it was both for financial reasons and for the fact that i really want to stay in boston/ ny area... I think my grades are good enough for BU, Tufts, and NYu ( which are my top choices)... I doubt i have any chance at uconn ...
However, these schools have many applicants and I want to distinguish myself ( or at least get noted) by writing a genuine interest letter about the program....
I guess i'll just call the schools and find out if its a good thing to write such a letter....
 
creative8401 said:
My view: No. Do not write them anything because if you look at it, everyone will and cay say the same thing. Your decision to write them a letter will, I strongly belive, have a negative impact on your application and looked down upon.
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I agree. Here's why. I did the same thing.

To distinguish myself at my (former?) top choice UoP, I wrote them a letter of intent (nearly 4 pages long) of why I wanted to go there. I also visited the campus (yeah, a $500 investment lol) and talked to admissions there in person.

Where did it get me? Nowhere. I was essentially rejected. And it's not like I'm some long shot applicant, I do have a 21 AA and 3.5... I think the visit and the letter may have had a negative impact, creeped them out a bit or something.. too bad, I wanted to go there so bad.. (but I do have interviews at great schools, so I can't complain too much right? interviews at great schools that I didn't send a letter to).

The point is, don't do it. If sending a letter of interest would have any positive effect, people would have figured it out years ago and everyone would be doing it...
 
I wish you the best of luck.

Just want to let you know...
I have a 3.81 GPA, 3.65 sci,

AA/TS/PA
20/21/20
However, no research or those other cool extras you have.

I applied to all those schools Late July and only NYU has given me an interview. I wish you luck!
 
I just finished writing my letter to Marquette expressing my interest. It's printed and ready to go. Well, it was ready to go until I came on here a few minutes ago and read this thread. Now I'm debating whether I should mail it. It's so tempting because its siting right in front of me right now, looking like a great idea. I guess I'll hold the mail date for a day and see what others have to say. Talk about a change of heart.
 
do what im doing and run a marathon in the city of the school you are interested in and carry appropriate signage to get you noticed...i guarantee nobody has done that before! except me!
 
There are a lot of things students have not done. You can take more extrememes, I'm sure you can think of it.

Are you being serious? I saw a thread disucssing this but didnt read through it all. I hope you are being as sarcastic as I think you are...

If not, there will be one less applicant.

Good luck with the marathon.
 
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topdent1 said:
I just finished writing my letter to Marquette expressing my interest. It's printed and ready to go. Well, it was ready to go until I came on here a few minutes ago and read this thread. Now I'm debating whether I should mail it. It's so tempting because its siting right in front of me right now, looking like a great idea. I guess I'll hold the mail date for a day and see what others have to say. Talk about a change of heart.
Click to expand...

It seems like a good idea only because you think it will increase your chances, but I hope this thread is a slap back to reality. Think about it for a sec. What is your letter going to tell the adcom. They read hundreds of files a day, and every student is qualified in their own way. How does your letter distinguish you from me or anybody in this forum. In no way. I could send one too, and might even use more fancy words as well. I don't know, its up to you.

I just remembered something important. Thought I edit this post. The reason such things are looked down upon is because you create an unfair advantage for yourself. It is highly looked down upon because you give yourself an opportunity that others do not. You create it for yourself, and for the adcom, that simply means unfair, and higher chance of rejection.
 
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hmm i see what you guys are saying and I have to say that I see your point and agree with most of you.
Maybe I should clarify, I am not doing it to achieve some unfair advantage over other people or w/e I just think that schools such as BU, Tufts, and NYU have lots of applicants and some of them applied there as a backup ( cause they're private and expensive). So, I thought if i'll write a letter expressing my interest in the program the school will see that i am actually interested and its not a back up. Again, according to other info my grades are higher than the averages the school reported for their upcoming class last year (except RC😡) so I thought a letter just might push my application and to show that I actually want to go there.
Anyway, I guess I'll try to call the schools and see what they think. I was wondering if there's anyone here who did send a letter and saw a positive result...
 
the best you could have expressed your interest in those schools was to turn your app in a timely manner.
 
thats not really helpful...
 
Isradoc1983 said:
thats not really helpful...
Click to expand...

It's true though. Other than grades and DAT scores, the one thing that every school has posted somewhere on their website or in their recruiting literature is to apply early. I agree with what has been said before, the letter will not likely boost your chances. They will get their interest in you from your initial application, and then they can gauge your interest in them by what you put in your secondary application. It's like a dating relationship. If the other person likes you, then love notes are cute. If they have no interest in you, then love notes are scary stalker-ish. Same thing with the letter. If they are interested in you they will let you know.
 
somethinpositiv said:
I agree. Here's why. I did the same thing.

To distinguish myself at my (former?) top choice UoP, I wrote them a letter of intent (nearly 4 pages long) of why I wanted to go there. I also visited the campus (yeah, a $500 investment lol) and talked to admissions there in person.

Where did it get me? Nowhere. I was essentially rejected. And it's not like I'm some long shot applicant, I do have a 21 AA and 3.5... I think the visit and the letter may have had a negative impact, creeped them out a bit or something.. too bad, I wanted to go there so bad.. (but I do have interviews at great schools, so I can't complain too much right? interviews at great schools that I didn't send a letter to).

The point is, don't do it. If sending a letter of interest would have any positive effect, people would have figured it out years ago and everyone would be doing it...
Click to expand...

I see where you are coming from. What stood out the most for me while reading your story was the fact that your "letter of intent" was 4 pages long?? To me that would seem excessive because your PS had a limit, and everyone writes the same PS. So someone else who was as qualified as you, but wrote what you wrote in 4 pages in their PS........is going to UOP. Anyway, you have good qualifications, so don't worry about it, you'll get in. I think if you had written a professional letter head, signed by you in ink, and 1 page max, it would have looked professional, and they might have stuck it in you file.

So my words to the OP. IF you have a desire to write something, do it in a professional letter head format, signed in ink by you, and don't exceed 1 page. You want to come off as showing interest in the school in particular in a neutral way, without sounding desperate, excessive, or just plain sucking up to the dean.
 
DRHOYA said:
I see where you are coming from. What stood out the most for me while reading your story was the fact that your "letter of intent" was 4 pages long?? To me that would seem excessive because your PS had a limit, and everyone writes the same PS. So someone else who was as qualified as you, but wrote what you wrote in 4 pages in their PS........is going to UOP. Anyway, you have good qualifications, so don't worry about it, you'll get in. I think if you had written a professional letter head, signed by you in ink, and 1 page max, it would have looked professional, and they might have stuck it in you file.

So my words to the OP. IF you have a desire to write something, do it in a professional letter head format, signed in ink by you, and don't exceed 1 page. You want to come off as showing interest in the school in particular in a neutral way, without sounding desperate, excessive, or just plain sucking up to the dean.
Click to expand...

that's exactly what I've been waiting to hear!
 
I think the only time you can express your desire is after the interview. When you write the thank you e-mail to the faculty member who interviewed, you can let him/her know that you consider the school as your top choice. Then he/she can transfer your message to adcoms when they have their final meeting and the faculty who interviewed you can make a better case on behalf of you. I don't think it is helpful to write the letter before even getting an interview since they are many qualified students and they have not even met you for an interview yet.
 
DRHOYA said:
I see where you are coming from. What stood out the most for me while reading your story was the fact that your "letter of intent" was 4 pages long?? To me that would seem excessive because your PS had a limit, and everyone writes the same PS. So someone else who was as qualified as you, but wrote what you wrote in 4 pages in their PS........is going to UOP.
Click to expand...

My letter had nothing to do with my PS. It was why I wanted to go to UoP, not just why I wanted to become a dentist. 4 pages tailored to the specifics of UoP and how I agree with and would benefit from the environment, mission statement, didactic teaching style, clinical teaching style, emphasis on humanism, core values, and many other specifics.

It in no way had anything to do with my PS, as I realize that they already have my PS... I'm not sure where you got that from..
 
DRHOYA said:
I think if you had written a professional letter head, signed by you in ink
Click to expand...

Obviously it was in professional letter head and signed in ink... Who do you take me for? Did you assume my social ineptness by my AA? :laugh:

If anyone is going to write a letter, I would recommend agaist it, but do it if you think you should. To the OP: do you really need us to reassure you that it's okay before you do it?
 
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ASAM10 said:
I think the only time you can express your desire is after the interview. When you write the thank you e-mail to the faculty member who interviewed, you can let him/her know that you consider the school as your top choice. Then he/she can transfer your message to adcoms when they have their final meeting and the faculty who interviewed you can make a better case on behalf of you. I don't think it is helpful to write the letter before even getting an interview since they are many qualified students and they have not even met you for an interview yet.
Click to expand...

I agree with this. It is rather standard to write a thank-you email/letter after going to an interview. This would be a more appropriate opportunity to express your interest. This letter will mean nothing to them, as they already have more applicants than they know what to do with.
 
somethinpositiv said:
My letter had nothing to do with my PS. It was why I wanted to go to UoP, not just why I wanted to become a dentist. 4 pages tailored to the specifics of UoP and how I agree with and would benefit from the environment, mission statement, didactic teaching style, clinical teaching style, emphasis on humanism, core values, and many other specifics.

It in no way had anything to do with my PS, as I realize that they already have my PS... I'm not sure where you got that from..
Click to expand...

Yeah I know. What I meant was, when an adcom sees a 4 page letter, they might not sit there and pick through the whole thing. They might just see it think "they must have left something out of their PS"..........idk. Most of these types of things are hit or miss, you never really know what adcom's do with letters like these. It's all on first impression when they open it.
 
somethinpositiv said:
Obviously it was in professional letter head and signed in ink... Who do you take me for? Did you assume my social ineptness by my AA? :laugh:

If anyone is going to write a letter, I would recommend agaist it, but do it if you think you should. To the OP: do you really need us to reassure you that it's okay before you do it?
Click to expand...

:laugh::laugh:. I see that other thread has caught attention. Haha no I did not assume.

I'm sure it was professional and signed, but look at it this way: If you can express all those aspects in a formal 1 page document, it's less for the adcom to read and understand, as well as taking up less time to get to your point.
 
somethinpositiv said:
Obviously it was in professional letter head and signed in ink... Who do you take me for? Did you assume my social ineptness by my AA? :laugh:

If anyone is going to write a letter, I would recommend agaist it, but do it if you think you should. To the OP: do you really need us to reassure you that it's okay before you do it?
Click to expand...

Well thanks for all the responses and the input. No, I don't need anyone to reassure me what's ok or not to do. It was an i dea I had but I wasn't sure whether it'll be a good thing to do or not. Apparently most people think its not and I have to agree that this might not be the best idea.
Thanks everyone
 
after rethinking this, it may be ok to send the letter, but ONLY as a last ditch effort.

Like in March, if a school hasn't rejected you or invited you for interview, you can send a letter.
 
I think it's okay to send letter of interest. However, it'd be better to just send an application update letter (with new info/grade/extracurriculars) with a paragraph on interest in school. I did this to most of the schools I applied to and I've been getting positive responses from those schools.
 
Reviving an old thread 😱.

I am thinking of sending a letter of interest to various schools in December after I have received my fall grades. I would like to write about my achievements this past year (23 credits of 4.0s) and my personal interest to the schools. In particular, I would really hoping this will help say that I am not applying to those schools as a back-up as many others do (my top 2 receive many many applications a year).

What are everyone's opinions on writing letter of interests?
 
CANgnome said:
Reviving an old thread 😱.

I am thinking of sending a letter of interest to various schools in December after I have received my fall grades. I would like to write about my achievements this past year (23 credits of 4.0s) and my personal interest to the schools. In particular, I would really hoping this will help say that I am not applying to those schools as a back-up as many others do (my top 2 receive many many applications a year).

What are everyone's opinions on writing letter of interests?
Click to expand...

I think your 23 credits of 4.0's will speak for itself. In addition, you have two schools waiting for your fall grades- so that's great. You'll definitely get interviews in my opinion. The only problem that I have with writing letters of interest is that it may show an air of desperation or you maybe to pushy. Whether thats good or bad...I dunno...I personally wouldn't. If anything, I would TOUR the school. That shows interest and none of the above negatives. But its your choice. GL.
 
I personally think writting letter/email to show one's interest wouldn't do anything (nothing good but also nothing bad) to your application. Those who will get your letter/email will most likely be someone who's not in charge of making decisions.

and after Acadmic update period, shcools will have your updated GPA and I think that will give the schools more attention than a single letter/email anyways.
 
I was thinking of writing the dean or dean of admissions a letter. Some people have gotten positive responses, apparently, from previous year's posts.

Instead of a letter of interest what about an update e-mail? I will just write about my grades this semester and extracurriculars. I will also be getting my green card very soon and will be settling down in the state (befor August 2011) so that might be very significant.

with a paragraph or a few sentences showing my interest at the very end?
 
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CANgnome said:
Reviving an old thread 😱.

I am thinking of sending a letter of interest to various schools in December after I have received my fall grades. I would like to write about my achievements this past year (23 credits of 4.0s) and my personal interest to the schools. In particular, I would really hoping this will help say that I am not applying to those schools as a back-up as many others do (my top 2 receive many many applications a year).

What are everyone's opinions on writing letter of interests?
Click to expand...

put yourself in the person's shoes whos going to read that letter. Is he going to think "wow, this kid is a bad ass, 23 credits with straight 4.0, and he has a monstrous DAT, lets get him here asap"..

OR

"damn, its December already and hes sending this kind of letter out, it must be he hasn't been accepted anywhere.... I wonder why that is? there must be something wrong with his application"

My opinion (and its based on my time working in I.T and interviewing people from time to time): stay put, sending this kind of letter DOES show a sign of desperation (even if its not your intent) and it does show weakness in your application.

Good luck on whatever you decide
 
CANgnome said:
I was thinking of writing the dean or dean of admissions a letter. Some people have gotten positive responses, apparently, from previous year's posts.

Instead of a letter of interest what about an update e-mail? I will just write about my grades this semester and extracurriculars. I will also be getting my green card very soon and will be settling down in the state (befor August 2011) so that might be very significant.

with a paragraph or a few sentences showing my interest at the very end?
Click to expand...

I agree with DentalWorks. The two outcomes I can see are:

A) Dean (who is in a good mood) looks at letter and says hey he did pretty well. Maybe, I'll look him over.

B) Deans, who are usually incredibly busy, might toss away your letter, sense that you are begging (which is never good), and gets thousands of the same old email (where do I stand), are my recs in, are you sure you have my transcript crap, gets ANOTHER email on top of all the other emails. Needless to say...I don't think it looks that favorable.

On top of that, the dean might be wondering why didn't you go through admissions advisors instead of going straight to them. They are very busy. Why are you bothering them? There are admissions advisors that work their job for a reason. They could at most pass on your letter of interest to the adcoms reviewing your profile.

Your 23 units of 4.0 work speaks well, and by doing this, I think you are coming across as desperate. Let your academic update speak for itself.

In the real world, dating world, working world, desperate never looks good.

Just giving you a realm of possibilities/reasonings that you may have overlooked. GL with your decision.
 
thanks guys. i have chosen not to send the letter of interest or an update letter after all given your feedbacks.

although i am still ambiguous about the update letter.


regardless, it is not so much that I am desperate but rather it is of great importance that if I were to be accepted to a DS for the next four years, I would be living in that state. While I understand that I should not come across as desperate, I would really like to somehow state this. I cannot think of a good way of achieving both, however. Reading it again, I suppose there is some tone of desperation 😳
 
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